Tastes like Watermelon?

I did not move to Ohio for the weather… So, with big dreams of finding the “Spendy” and well sought after Morchellas more widely known as Morel Mushrooms, in our local forests this past weekend, my husband and I went “Shrooming.” Under an azure sunny sky, we tromped through miles of damp and marshy woods avoiding poison ivy, and walking through spider webs all while dreaming of toasting our foraged finds with a rich full bodied red wine and a dinner of Morel Madeira Crostini under the stars later that night. Ummm… ROOKIES!!

By mid afternoon, we were VERY FRUSTRATED and beginning to wonder if we had a better chance of stumbling across the Grimm Brothers’ Hansel and Gretel far before we even came close to finding a single earthy and delicious tasting morel. Knee deep in briers, feet sunk stubbornly into the mud, and in the middle of absolutely nowhere, my nerdy, but cute husband surfed the internet on his Blackberry. As he was reading posts on the Ohio Morels & Mushrooms Message Board where other foragers were already reporting finds in the hundreds just a few miles away and scanning Google Earth attempting to find a better location, I was off exploring a very funky mushroom growing out of a dead tree close by.

Intrigued by the little I know of the Dryads in Greek Mythology, I continued to read on. According to the guide, the Polyporus Squamosu is a “Large, fleshy, tough, scaly, yellowish-brown cap with large, white to yellowish pores and a descending short stalk. Cap 2 3/8-12″ (6-30 cm) wide… Flesh 0.5-3.5 cm thick; white. Odor and taste like watermelon rind.” TASTES LIKE WATERMELON RIND?!!

Ok, I can not even begin to imagine what that experience was like for the mycologist who discovered it, because nothing about this freaky looking thing said, “Tear me off the tree, take me home in your pretty little basket, and serve me to your family disguised as Pickled Watermelon Rind.” ICK!!

So yes, to be candidly honest, I am not a mycologist and you could not pay enough money to get me to salivate over the thought of chewing a rubbery hunk of watermelon flavored fungi. But, I did find it fascinating to photograph and I happily took a ton of pictures.

L.L. Barkat, Good Point! Many mushrooms are not only poisonous, some can be downright deadly. So, yes… it is very important to be very knowledgeable before foraging for mushrooms.

My husband has been studying Mycology and growing mushrooms as a hobby for years, but even we would never consider eating all of our finds. However, sometimes it is just fun to get out in the woods with a camera and a field guide. Simply learn them as you go and leave the questionable ones behind for others to discover.

Walden, We never did find any morels this year, but finding the Dryad’s Saddle was pretty exciting and it seems even cooler now I know how rare it is. Thanks for commenting!

I have to say, those young dryad’s saddle look really perfect. I find them often when searching for morels. I only take those that are very young because they get very tough when they are older. But, when they are young and tender, they are very good. The don’t have much flavor on their own and are best in some kind of marinade and then baked. They’re also tasty battered and fried. Next time you find some I highly suggest you give them a try. They’re a great find when you don’t have enough luck to find morels.